Thanks to NetGalley and Red Door for providing me with a free copy of this book in return for an honest review.

For fans of British espionage books, the Dylan series by Brian Landers is a marvelous way to build upon the works of Eric Ambler, Graham Greene and John le Carre`. Landers, along with friends who had previously been a part of the British Intelligence Service began a political intelligence unit in London, and traveled the world gaining an insight into the “spy game.”

For the third book in this series, Landers focuses on Poland and the events of the early 1980’s, which include the rise of Solidarity at the Gdansk Shipyard, and the eventual military takeover of the country by General Jaruzelski. And all of this begins with the assassination of a Turkish General in Russia. Thomas and Julia Dylan are there on a cultural city tour when the General is killed and nobody but Julia got a look at the assassin. Quickly the Dylan’s are brought back to England, debriefed, and soon are part of the UK assistance to a CIA devised Operation Coronation, all of which has to do with the return of the Crown of a medieval Polish king to a priest in Poland and which will allegedly cause the Polish people to rise and overthrow the government.

As with the traditional espionage novels, Landers introduces us to characters from Russia, Poland, England and the US, along with his wife who always seems to be one step ahead of everyone in terms of understanding what is going on! We are taken into everyone’s points of views and ideas as to what has gone wrong with this plan, and see that uneasy cooperation between the CIA and British agencies involved in this.

In addition to the death of the Turkish General, we also have an escaped Polish naval soldier who washed up on British soil by accident and whose story is too bizarre for anyone to make out. Landers also has the excellent ability to end a chapter with a hook that makes us want to continue reading since Dylan thinks one thing is happening and then in the last sentence of the chapter he relates that things aren’t as we expect.

Lots of Polish history in the book and that history is the driving force behind the plots, counter plots and counter-counter plots! It is a fast paced and highly believable book, and even though it is the 3rd book in the series it can easily be read as a stand-alone book. Nobody does espionage like British authors, and Landers has mastered this genre and his setting in Poland in the early 1980’s is one that is both fresh and fascinating.
This review was previously published at www.mysteryandsuspense.com

“Coincidence of Spies” by Brian Landers is the third book to feature Thomas and Julia Dylan, a husband-and-wife team working for the British secret services. This is a complicated, wonderful story that takes place mostly in eastern Europe in the early 1980s as things out there began to unravel.

The action starts in the USSR, where our leads have been posted to Moscow. While on a tourist excursion they witness the assassination of a Turkish general, Julia being the only one who got a good look at the assassin. No longer welcome in Moscow, the Dylans are set to come back to London, after stopping to do a brief “favor” to the Americans in Poland. With Solidarnosc taking hold across the country and the communist regime crumbling, the Americans are backing an audacious plan to find a medieval Polish crown that could be used to rally the rebels against the government. Suffice it to say that things don’t go according to plan, with the crown, the Americans, and the money all disappearing in the Mazur lake region of Poland, pursued by the Polish army, and the Dylans barely escaping with their lives, accompanied by a nationalistic (fascist?) priest.

Of course, things don’t get much simpler back in the UK. A Polish stowaway with a strange tale and many secrets, the rediscovery of the missing crown, and the reappearance of the Turkish general’s assassin shows that the story isn’t over yet, and much more complicated than originally thought. Due to the potential of a mole in the British embassy, Thomas returns to Poland, just in time for marshal law to be declared and putting everything at risk.

This is a fantastic story, and the best entry in this extraordinary series. I do not understand why there isn’t more excitement, more buzz around Mr. Landers’ Dylan series. My only reasoning is that these are sprawling, messy stories, and I absolutely mean this as a compliment. This is not a world where everything is black and white, where there are clear cut heroes and villains. Rather this is a complicated world with many different shades of gray. People do bad things for good reasons, people do things for what they think are noble causes, people are political and self-preserving. The motives behind what is happening are not always known, and our heroes spend a lot of time trying to figure out the meaning of what is happening and who is behind it. There are many people to keep track of, each with their own motives and agendas. And the ending isn’t a ride off into the sunset, with everyone living happily ever after.

But enjoy the complications, enjoy the characters, enjoy the scenery, enjoy the era – this was when espionage was at its most exciting. I also have to admit that I really enjoyed the Polish setting and history, although being of Polish descent myself I may be slightly biased, having visited Poland slightly before these events all took place. Looking forward to the next chapter!

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from RedDoor via NetGalley. Thank you!

Coincidence of Spies is an intriguing, well-written spy novel. It is not a thriller. The focus for the reader is on British spies Tom and Julia Bryant as they try to figure out a scheme involving an old Polish crown, perhaps a symbol that would fire a resistance effort in Poland. The trouble is that nothing is at it seems. The Americans are involved in a related plot involving a KGB general who seems to have turned as a spy for the Americans. The KGB may be behind everything. There is murder. There are chases. There is confusion. Lots of confusion. Author Brian Landers has his characters constantly reassessing the situation and the dangers they face. They don't always know who is on their side. We read again and again the speculation going through their minds. It gets tedious and unfocused. But, confident in the author, we read on to discover the actual situation.
Thanks, NetGalley, for the ARC.